Jimmie Johnson held off Kevin Harvick after a green-white-checkered finish, adding his tenth Dover victory to a strong 2015.
Jimmie Johnson took the 2015 FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2015, after a green-white-checkered finish. The NASCAR Sprint Cup race was the 13th of the season, and the win was Johnson's tenth at the track and his 74th career victory, lifting him into third in the points.
Jimmie Johnson won the 2015 FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway, taking the checkered flag after a green-white-checkered finish. The race was the 13th of the 2015 Sprint Cup season and ran 405 laps, five more than scheduled. It was Johnson's tenth victory at the Delaware track.
What was the 2015 FedEx 400?
The 2015 FedEx 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup race run at Dover International Speedway on May 31, 2015. It was the 13th race of the season and was carried on Fox Sports 1 for American viewers. Johnson won, with Kevin Harvick second and Kyle Larson third.
The race name recognised Autism Speaks, the charity that the event benefited. It was Johnson's 74th career win, and it lifted him into third in the standings.
A late green-white-checkered restart decided Jimmie Johnson's tenth win at Dover, after a race full of cautions and wrecks.
How did Dover International Speedway shape the race?
Dover is a 1.6 km (1 mile) concrete oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 degrees on the straights. The track opened in 1969, switched from asphalt to concrete in 1995 and carries the nickname The Monster Mile. It is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
Capacity has changed over time. The speedway had 135,000 seats in 2001, and after the 2014 season that figure fell to 95,500. Since opening, the track has held at least two NASCAR races, and it has also hosted USAC and IndyCar events.
Who was on the entry list and in the points?
The entry list was released at 12:41 p.m. Eastern on Monday, May 25, and forty-five drivers were entered. Kevin Harvick arrived with a 41-point lead over Martin Truex Jr. Joey Logano was 66 points back, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 72 back and Jimmie Johnson 80 back.
Brian Scott was the only driver change from the previous week's Coca-Cola 600 field. He returned to the seat of the No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport Chevrolet, and the rest of the grid was unchanged from Charlotte.
Goodyear gave teams a newly built left-side compound intended to add grip. Each team was allotted nine sets of tyres rather than the usual eleven, which made tyre strategy a bigger factor than normal.
Two teams had failed qualifying tech inspection on the first attempt in consecutive weeks: the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and the No. 51 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet. Both were due to pick their pit stalls last, but the 48 team appealed and kept its place in the order it qualified.
How quick were qualifying and practice?
Denny Hamlin took pole with 22.483 seconds, a lap speed of 160.121 mph (257.690 km/h). Jimmie Johnson had been fastest in the first practice session at 21.969 seconds. Hamlin was then quickest in both the second and final practice sessions, which made him the quickest driver going into Sunday.
Hamlin was fastest in the second session at 23.028 seconds and in the final session at 23.064 seconds. He said afterwards that his race trim looked stronger than his qualifying car, and he hoped it would carry him to victory lane on Sunday.
Martin Truex Jr. said the car had not felt like a front-row car in practice, but adjustments brought it close to perfect. Greg Biffle said the team had momentum and was trying to reach the top five. Jeff Green and Travis Kvapil failed to qualify.
Earnhardt Jr. also had a fluid leak in final practice that spread across the apron at the exit of pit road. The crew repaired it and he went back out to complete the session.
How did the race unfold?
Hamlin led the field to the green flag, and the race started two minutes after its scheduled 1:15 p.m. time. Hamlin lost the lead to Truex Jr. on lap 45 after being held up by Justin Allgaier. The first caution came on lap 74 for debris in turn 1.
Hamlin reclaimed the lead by leaving pit road first. Truex took it back later, and the second caution came on lap 163, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. suffered a tyre blowout and hit the turn 2 wall. Several drivers were penalised during the pit stops, including David Gilliland for speeding on pit road.
The third caution came on lap 176 for a three-car wreck on the front stretch. Trevor Bayne, moving up the track as he left turn 4, was turned by Michael Annett and hit the inside wall. Annett rode the wall and was then rear-ended by Justin Allgaier. Truex did not pit under the caution, while most of the cars on the lead lap did.
The race passed the halfway mark with the field strung out. A fourth caution on lap 261 followed an uncontrolled tyre that came to rest against the outside pit wall. During that stoppage the concrete pit box used by Tony Stewart was beginning to come apart.
Truex led a race-high 131 laps overall. Kevin Harvick built a lead of 1.8 seconds at one stage before the late restarts reshaped the order.
Matt Kenseth made an unscheduled stop on lap 307 and returned in 22nd, two laps down. Later Kyle Busch and Brian Scott slid up the track in turn 3 and hit the wall together. Busch said his team had been in the top five all day before the crash.
Harvick and Johnson stayed out while Truex and the lead-lap cars pitted. After the restart Johnson moved ahead of Harvick, and a second two-car wreck on the backstretch brought out another caution. Hamlin was tapped by Bowyer and clipped Kurt Busch in the process.
The final caution came in the closing laps when Allmendinger and Casey Mears were collected in a wreck in turn 4. The race finished under green-white-checkered: Johnson shot ahead of his teammate Kasey Kahne and held off Harvick to take the win.
What were the final results?
Johnson won, Harvick was second, and Kyle Larson finished third. Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola completed the top five, while Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth after leading the most laps. The race time was 3 hours, 23 minutes, 16 seconds, at an average speed of 119.547 mph (192.392 km/h).
| Finish | Driver | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Jimmie Johnson | 74th career win and tenth at Dover; won $305,826 |
| Second | Kevin Harvick | Pushed Johnson hard over the closing laps |
| Third | Kyle Larson | Third place finish |
| Fourth | Kasey Kahne | Top-five finish |
| Fifth | Aric Almirola | First top-ten finish of the season |
| Sixth | Martin Truex Jr. | Led a race-high 131 laps |
| 21st | Denny Hamlin | Led 118 laps before a late wreck |
What did the result mean for the points?
Johnson moved up to third in the drivers' standings after the win, while Chevrolet left Dover with a 51-point lead over Ford in the manufacturers' standings. Hamlin, who led 118 laps, finished 21st after a late wreck. The result also strengthened Johnson's position in the points.
The race had 15 lead changes among nine different drivers. Seven cautions covered 40 laps, which slowed the pace and gave teams several chances to adjust their strategy.
Johnson won $305,826, and the race averaged 119.547 mph (192.392 km/h) over its 405 laps.
Were there penalties after the race?
Yes. NASCAR penalised Trevor Bayne for leaving his wrecked car before track safety officials cleared him to do so. He was fined $20,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the year. Pit road penalties were common during the event as well, including drive-throughs for speeding.
Pit road also produced a run of penalties during the race. David Gilliland served a drive-through for speeding, and Edwards was sent to the back after taking equipment out of his pit box. Edwards and Earnhardt Jr. both served drive-through penalties for speeding at the halfway stops, and Danica Patrick and Josh Wise were also sent through for speeding. Annett took a drive-through after an uncontrolled tyre.
The No. 4 team also received a P1 penalty for two consecutive written warnings. That decision meant the team had the last choice of pit stalls for the following weekend at Pocono Raceway.
Which drivers collected the race awards?
Several awards were handed out after the race, and they show how the field was spread across different parts of the weekend. Kevin Harvick took both the Freescale Wide Open award and the Bake in the Race award for brakes, while Martin Truex Jr. earned the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race honour with a 130.3 driver rating.
Truex also won the 3M lap leader award for his 131 laps and the American Ethanol green-flag restart award. Denny Hamlin took the Sherwin-Williams fastest lap award for lap 2, set at 22.879 seconds, or 157.347 mph (253.225 km/h). Brett Moffitt was named the Sunoco Rookie of the Race.
Kyle Larson earned the Ingersoll Rand Power Move award for climbing seven positions. Kasey Kahne was recognised with the Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver award alongside his crew chief, Keith Rodden. The MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder award went to Hendrick Engines, No. 42, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Leader Bonus had no winner, so it rolled over to $100,000 at the next event.
What did the drivers say after the race?
Johnson credited his track bar adjuster and his choice of line for the win. Johnson said afterwards that the track bar adjustment had been the difference. He said he and Kevin Harvick had done just fine on older tyres while the cars that had taken fresh sets were not as quick.
Aric Almirola said he was proud of his crew chief, Trent Owens, and the team at Richard Petty Motorsports, which had been working hard to bring better cars to the track. His fifth-place finish was his first top ten of the season.
Martin Truex Jr. led the most laps for the third straight race and still finished sixth. He said the car had never been right all day, despite changes made between practice and the race. He also said clean air had been huge, and when his car was out front it was fine, but it never turned well over the course of the afternoon.
